“Do not deal unfairly, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the Lord, am your God.” – Leviticus 25:17

       Butch and Bill were young when their parents died. The brothers inherited a cow and proceeded to divide it. Butch said, “I will be fair with you, Bill. You take the front portion of the cow as your share. I will take the hind. Each one gets its profit from his share.”

       Bill fed the cow well. It became healthy and produced a lot of milk. Now, Butch got all the milk and sold it for a good profit. But he did not share the money with Bill. When Bill asked for his share, Butch said, “I got the milk from my side of the cow.”

       So the next day, while Butch was milking the cow, Bill beat the cow on its shoulder. The cow started kicking with its hind legs at Butch. He said, “You fool! Why did you beat the cow? Don’t you see I’m milking it?” Bill said, “The front portion of the cow is mine. I can do anything with it. That’s our agreement.”

        The sibling rivalry got so bad that they decided to divide the cow and get their fair share. Each got half a ton of meat, but after selling that, they had no more source of income.

        When we treat the other person with fairness and honor, both parties come out the winner. But when we choose to act out of selfish rivalry, we all lose. Fairness begets fairness. Honor begets honor. Mike Viñas (mikemichaelfcv@yahoo.com)

Reflection:“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10, ESV)

Jesus, teach me to honor people with justice and grace.

St. Addal, pray for us.

I like the idea of a jubilee year every 50 years, where debts are forgiven and lands are returned to their ancestral owners. There is something just and true to this practice. However, it certainly is not going to happen in a society where money and power are king and wealth is the focus of the people. Let us pray that men and women of faith can begin to change the focus of today’s society so that practices might change as well.

1 The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 8 “Seven weeks of years shall you count — seven times seven years — so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years. 9 Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the trumpet resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo throughout your land. 10 This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property, every one to his own family estate. 11 In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the after-growth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. 12 Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you, you may not eat of its produce, except as taken directly from the field. 13 “In this year of jubilee, then, every one of you shall return to his own property. 14 Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from him, do not deal unfairly. 15 On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee shall you purchase the land from your neighbor; and so also, on the basis of the number of years for crops, shall he sell it to you. 16 When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more; when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less. For it is really the number of crops that he sells you. 17 Do not deal unfairly, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the Lord, am your God.”

R: O God, let all the nations praise you!

1 [2] May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. 2 [3] So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. (R) 4 [5] May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. (R) 6 [7] The earth has yielded its fruits; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 [8] May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! (R)

The Gospel is about the stark contrast of an evil mother, Herodias, to the greatest of all mothers, Mary, who points us to salvation through her Son. As we celebrate the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, we honor Mary our Mother and the Mother of God. Originally begun a little after the Council of Ephesus that declared Mary to be the Mother of God, this Basilica is one of the most ancient churches dedicated to Mary. It is a magnificent building that truly reflects both the honor we should accord Mary for her role in salvation and the honor due to her Son, Jesus, our Savior.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

1 Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus 2 and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” 3 Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, 4 for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7 so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, 10 and he had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

think: Do you lead your children or even other people to do wrong or good deeds?

Read the Bible in one year 1 Maccabees 11-12

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

ON GROUNDS OF FAIRNESS

AND FEAR OF GOD

“Do not deal unfairly, then, but stand in the fear of God.” It is so classic, yet so realistic, so old and yet so new, so often told yet still so true. In a land filled with injustice and inequality, the Lord offers not an ideology, but a theology. Ideology is godless. Theology is a way of interpreting reality from the prism of faith in a God who proclaims Himself engaged and involved to the daily lives of His people.

       Jose Alberto Mujica was considered the “world’s poorest president.” He served as top executive of Uruguay for only five years, the whole time using his old rickety Volkswagen Beetle that looked like it would conk out any time. I don’t know whether he feared God, or if he did what he did for God, but I am pretty certain he dealt fairly with everyone. He gave away most of his meager salary to charity. He was a man engaged and involved with his people. He, too, was attached and attuned to the needs of the very people he served.

       Herod the Tetrarch was a leader. He was not pleased that someone like John saw the unfairness in the covetous act he did to the wife of his brother Philip. He dealt John swift but self-serving “justice,” riding on the innocence of a young girl and the wiliness of the girl’s mother. He obviously showed no fear of God.

       Last year, the Philippines — and the world — was jolted by news of a grand high-tech larceny. Eighty-one million dollars that belonged to Bangladesh were stolen, laundered and distributed to very intelligent thieves who had connections with organized gambling. They obviously could not have pulled it off unaided, unabetted and even supported by people who were more than just bank managers, tellers and clerks. It was an almost perfect crime.

       The Jubilee Year was aimed at restoring justice. While it was geared towards dealing with everyone fairly, it was based on a theology and spirituality — the fear and love of God. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

What sort of grounding do you have for who you are and what you do?

Heavenly Father, grant me the grace to remain firm in upholding the good that You want us to do. May I see only what is black as black, and white as white. Let there be no gray areas for me. Amen.